CN100350984C - IV Needle Catheter - Google Patents

Abstract

A safety IV catheter includes an integral spring needle guard in a catheter hub. The needle guard includes a proximal arm or wall that includes an opening through which the needle is axially movable. When the needle is retracted from the catheter, it releases the force that previously prevented the needle guard from moving within the catheter hub. This in turn causes the needle guard to bite into a clamped position on the needle shaft where the distal wall blocks access to the needle tip. In this state, the resilient needle guard and needle can be removed from the catheter hub. A slot or protuberance is formed in the needle shaft that engages the needle guard after the protected needle and needle guard are removed from the catheter tube, thereby preventing the protected needle from being removed from the needle guard.

Description

IV Needle Catheter

This application is a divisional application of the patent application 98808228.4 filed on August 18, 1998, entitled "Spring Clip for Protecting Needle Tip of Safety IV Needle Catheter".

technical field

The present invention relates generally to intravenous (IV) needle catheters and, more particularly, to a safety IV needle catheter whose needle tip is automatically capped after the needle is withdrawn to prevent accidental access by a nurse to the needle tip.

Background technique

I.V. needle catheters are primarily used to infuse fluids, and sometimes medication, directly into a patient's vascular system. This needle catheter is inserted into the patient's vein by a nurse using a hand-held injection device with a needle-sharp tip. The needle is placed in the hollow of the needle catheter with its tip extending slightly beyond the edge of the needle catheter. The end of the device opposite the needle tip consists of the needle attached to a hub which the nurse can hold during insertion.

The insertion process involves four basic steps: (1) the nurse inserts the needle and needle catheter together into the patient's vein; (2) after the needle tip is inserted into the vein, the nurse advances the needle catheter into the patient's vein with her finger; (3) ) the nurse grasps the end of the needle hub (opposite the needle tip) and withdraws the needle while applying pressure to the patient's skin at the insertion site with the other free hand; and (4) the nurse then removes the inserted needle The catheter is taped to the patient's skin, and the exposed end of the needle catheter and the needle catheter hub are connected to a source of fluid to be infused into the patient's vein.

The problem here is that immediately after removing the needle from the patient's vein, the nurse must perform at least two urgent procedures at the same time: the exposed needle tip must be brought into close proximity, and the task required to complete the needle removal must also be performed . It is during this handover that there is a risk of accidental sticking by the exposed needle tip, which in this case makes the nurse vulnerable to various dangerous pathogens carried in the blood, including those of AIDS and hepatitis. infect.

The risk of nurses being exposed to accidental needle sticks has prompted the development of safe IV needle catheters that prevent such accidental needle sticks. Safe needle catheters developed to this effect have been disclosed, for example, Lemteux's reissued patent Re. Patent 4,978,344. US Patent 4,929,241 to Kulli and US Patent 5,053,017 to Chamuel disclose a needle protector for use with hypodermic needles.

The safety needle catheters in the prior art all have more or less disadvantages, thus greatly limiting their usability, and cannot be fully approved by nurses. For example, in the safety needle catheters disclosed in the Lemieux patent, engaging the narrow slot of the needle in the flange of the guard requires considerable force and prevents withdrawal of the needle. To reduce this force to an acceptable level, the needle guard may remain in the needle catheter hub after the needle is withdrawn from the needle catheter. As a result, the safety needle catheter disclosed in the Lemieux patent does not always function reliably.

Likewise, the safety needle catheter disclosed in the Dombrowski patent also requires the user to exert considerable force to remove the protective cover from the needle catheter hub when the cover is attached to the needle. The safety needle catheter disclosed in the Dombrowski patent is also relatively expensive to manufacture because of its flexible flange and tether.

The McLees shield requires cumbersome extra pulling force on the needle shield via a retaining ring to pull the shielded needle from the needle catheter hub. McLees' protection device also required two separate parts to be assembled, so it was quite expensive to manufacture. In addition, the needle in the McLees protector has a larger diameter portion near and above the needle tip. This feature of the McLees protector requires the remainder of the needle to be of smaller diameter, which has the undesirable effect of slowing the backflow of blood through the needle.

Contents of the invention

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a safety IV needle catheter which reliably and automatically prevents accidental inadvertent contact with the needle tip after use.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a safety needle catheter that provides reliable protection to a nurse from needle sticks without requiring the nurse to make any changes in the way the safety needle catheter is used.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a safety IV needle catheter of the type described, which is relatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a safety needle catheter as described which prevents the needle from falling out of the needle guard after use.

To realize the purpose of the present invention, a kind of intravenous injection needle catheter is provided, comprising:

- a tubular needle catheter;

- a needle having a needle shaft and a needle point, said needle being housed within said tubular needle guide when in a ready position;

- a needle catheter hub fixed on the proximal end of said needle catheter, said needle catheter hub having a hollow interior surrounded by an inner wall;

- said needle is movable between said ready position, in which said needle tip is outside said needle catheter hub, and a retracted position, in which said needle tip is inside the needle catheter hub;

- a needle guard, within said needle catheter hub, comprising:

- an elastic portion, said elastic portion engages said needle shaft when the needle is in said ready position; it comprises

--- A section of the elastic portion of the needle guard, when the needle is in the ready position, is pushed by the needle bar to form a retaining relationship with the needle catheter hub;

--- a distal arm extending from the segment of the elastic part, when the needle is in the ready position, the distal arm is away from the needle tip to engage the needle, and when the needle is in its retracted position , the distal arm can move within the needle catheter to a blocking position far away from the needle tip;

- engaging the needle shaft by the elastic portion of the needle guard so that in the ready position the needle is engaged and the segment of the elastic portion is pushed into contact with the needle catheter hub,

It is characterized by:

- said segment of said resilient portion is a non-linear portion which maintains contact with a retaining deformation on said inner wall of the needle catheter hub, retaining the needle protector engaged with the needle shaft against the inner wall of the needle catheter hub in readiness position, thereby remaining fixed in the axial direction;

- and clamping means provided on the needle guard, clampingly engaged in at least two positions of the needle shaft when said needle guard is in said blocking position thereof, clamping said needle guard to On the needle, the needle bar no longer exerts force on the resilient portion of the needle guard.

To achieve the stated objects, the safety IV needle catheter of the present invention includes a resilient spring clip needle guard including a distal or front end, and a proximal or rear end. The spring clip is inserted into the needle catheter hub and is pressed by the needle shaft into contact with the inner wall of the needle catheter hub so that the needle guard is securely held within it. When the needle is withdrawn from the needle catheter, release the force previously applied to the needle guard and allow the needle guard to rotate within the needle catheter hub until it clips onto the needle bar. At this point, the distal arm of the needle guard blocks the needle tip at the distal end of the needle. Furthermore, the spring clip and the shielded needle it holds can be easily and safely withdrawn from the needle catheter hub. A narrow groove or protrusion may be provided on the needle which cooperates with the needle guard to prevent accidental disengagement of the needle from the needle guard after the needle and guard together have been removed from the needle catheter hub.

According to another embodiment of the spring clip safety needle catheter of the present invention, a retaining groove or protrusion is formed on the inner wall of the needle catheter hub. Increased retention of the spring clip in the needle catheter hub.

According to another embodiment of the spring clip safety needle catheter of the present invention, a narrow groove is formed in the needle. After the spring clip is rotated to its retracted position, and the needle is clamped by the spring clip, continued movement of the needle in the adjacent direction will cause the rear or proximal arm of the spring clip to fall into the narrow groove, thereby more reliably clamping the needle bar. on spring clips.

In yet another embodiment of the spring clip needle catheter guard of the present invention, a tether is attached to the needle hub and the spring clip guard to prevent the spring clip guard from being pulled from the needle being protected without the need for Excessive clamping force between them.

In yet another embodiment of the invention, the spring clip needle guard is in the form of a resilient cross-arm shape, with the lip of each arm on the distal guard wall. When the needle is in the armed state, it passes through the guard and pushes the two resilient arms away from each other, causing them to rest against the inner wall of the needle catheter hub. When the needle is retracted through the guard wall, the two resilient arms spring toward a safe position where the arms of both guards are away from the needle tip, creating a barrier that prevents accidental contact with the needle tip.

Description of drawings

In order to accomplish the above and other possible objects, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the attached picture:

1A and 1B are partial cross-sectional views of a safety IV needle catheter in ready and retracted states, respectively, according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

Figures 1C and 1D are similar to Figures 1A and 1B, and are another possible solution of the illustrated embodiment;

2A and 2B are partial cross-sectional views of a safety IV needle catheter in ready and retracted states, respectively, according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

3A and 3B are partial cross-sectional views of a safety IV needle catheter in ready and retracted states, respectively, according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

4A and 4B are partial cross-sectional views of a safety IV needle catheter in ready and retracted states, respectively, according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention;

5A and 5B are partial cross-sectional views of a safety IV needle catheter in ready and retracted states, respectively, according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention;

6A and 6B are partial cross-sectional views of a safety IV needle catheter in ready and retracted states, respectively, according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention;

7A, 7B and 7C are partial cross-sectional views of safety IV needle catheters in ready, engaged and retracted or protected states, respectively, according to seven embodiments of the present invention;

Figures 7D and 7E are similar to Figures 7A and 7B, and are variations of the embodiment of the present invention in Figures 7A and 7B;

Figure 8 is a perspective view of the spring clip needle guard used in the embodiment of Figure 7;

Figure 9 is a cross-sectional view of the spring clip needle guard of Figure 8;

10A and 10B are partial cross-sectional views of a safety IV needle catheter in ready and protected states, respectively, according to yet another embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 11 is a perspective view of the needle protector clip of the embodiment in Figure 10;

Figure 12 is a perspective view of a safety IV needle catheter according to another embodiment of the present invention;

Figures 13A and 13B are cross-sectional views of the embodiment of Figure 12 in ready and protected states, respectively, according to the present invention.

Detailed ways

The safety IV needle catheter of the present invention is indicated generally at 10 and in the embodiment shown in FIGS. Needle tip 18 proximal to needle 16 . The needle hub 12 is a commonly used one, which is hollow and has a perfusion chamber 22 . Needle 16 is also commonly used, and it is housed in hollow needle catheter 24, and its proximal end is fixed on the distal end of needle catheter hub 26. The needle catheter hub has a distal section 28 and a larger diameter proximal section 30 for connection.

The proximal end of the needle catheter hub 26 has a Luer fitting 32 which accommodates a set of tubing which introduces intravenous fluids into the patient in a known manner. The needle catheter 24 is secured within the axial passage 34 of the distal section 28 of the needle catheter hub by a sleeve 20 which fits within a passage 34 which contacts the proximal end of the needle catheter. The proximal end of channel 34 communicates with a perfusion chamber 36 formed in segment 30 .

In the ready position of the needle catheter shown in FIG. 1A, the distal end of the needle hub 12 is firmly engaged with the proximal end inside the chamber 36, so that the needle 16 passes through the chamber 36 and passage 34, and far beyond the needle. Catheter hub 26 and needle catheter 24, so that its needle tip is just out of the tapered distal end of the needle catheter.

When in use, the needle and the distal end of the needle catheter are inserted into the patient's vein. Then, the nurse further extends the needle catheter into the vein with hands, and then grasps the proximal end of the needle hub 12 with hands, and pulls out the needle. The Luer connector of needle catheter hub 26 is then fitted over the fluid source intended for infusion into the patient's vein.

According to the present invention, when the needle 16 is withdrawn from the patient, a protective needle guard 40 positioned within the chamber 36 automatically springs into a retracted position where it blocks access to the distal needle tip, Preventing the needle tip from moving further away prevents the nurse from accidentally making contact with the needle tip.

As shown in Figures 1A and 1B, needle guard 40 is in the shape of an integral spring clip, which is preferably made of a resilient metal, such as stainless steel. This spring clip has a far arm 42, and its upper end terminates at curved lip 44 places, and its lower end then terminates at needle tip 46 place, and this needle tip is stuck in a needle catheter hub section 30 place in the embodiment of Fig. 1. A matching groove 48 formed on the lower inner wall.

The spring clip needle guard 40 also has a transverse section 50 extending upwardly from near the lower needle tip 46 and terminating at a U-shaped upper end 52 . In the ready position of the spring clip shown in FIG. 1A , the upper end 52 bears against the upper inner wall of the proximal section 30 of the needle catheter hub. The spring clip guard 40 also has a proximal arm 54 extending downwardly from the U-shaped upper end 52 and terminating above the lower wall of the proximal section 30 of the needle catheter hub. Transverse section 50 and proximal arm 54 each have an axially aligned bore 56 and 58 through which the shaft of needle 16 passes free to move in the axial direction. The diameter of hole 58 is slightly larger than the diameter of the needle shaft, and the diameter of hole 56 is larger than the diameter of hole 58 .

In the ready state of the needle catheter before the needle is withdrawn, the needle shaft of the needle 16 contacts the curved lip 44 of the spring clip needle guard 40, thereby exerting a substantially downward force on the elastic spring clip. This force causes the lower end 46 of the spring clip to firmly engage in the groove 48 at point a. This engagement, coupled with the abutment of the upper end of the spring clip at point b against the upper inner wall of the needle catheter hub, securely holds the spring clip needle guard 40 in the ready position within the needle catheter hub.

After the needle catheter is inserted into the patient's vein, when the needle 16 is retracted rightward from the position shown in Figure 1A to the fully retracted position shown in Figure 1B, the needle tip at the distal end of the needle is approximately protected by the spring clip needle. Point c on the curved lip 44 of device 40, at this moment, the downward force that was originally acted on the spring clip by the needle bar has just disappeared.

As a result of the movement of the needle 16 approximately past point c, the retaining force acting on the spring clip needle guard 40 in the needle catheter hub is lost, causing the spring clip needle guard 40 to rotate clockwise, or to be stuck as shown in FIG. 1B . in the retracted position shown. As shown in FIG. 1B , the distal arm 42 of the needle guard 40 blocks the distal passage of the needle 16 . Simultaneously with blocking the passageway and losing the holding force, the spring clip guard 40 is firmly clamped on the needle bar at points d and e, thereby firmly locking the needle guard 40 on the needle bar. At this point, the needle 16 and needle guard 40 can be removed from the needle catheter hub 26 together, but the needle tip cannot pass forward through the needle guard because it is blocked by the far arm 42 and lip 44 of the needle guard .

If necessary, a narrow groove 60 can be formed in the shaft of the needle slightly near the tip of the needle. When the needle and the needle guard are in the retracted and clamped position (FIG. 1B), the position of the narrow slot 60 is slightly farther than the pinching point e of the transverse section of the needle guard 40, so if Later when it is desired to move the needle rearward or proximally, the transverse section 50 at point e snaps into the narrow slot 60, thereby providing additional force to keep the needle guard 40 in the protected position of the needle 16 , to prevent access to the needle tip.

The safety IV catheter in FIGS. 1C and ID is similar to that in FIGS. 1A and 1B except that the narrow slot 60 on the needle shaft is replaced by a ring of ridges 61 that are larger in diameter than the hole 58 in the proximal arm 54 . When wanting to make the protected needle in Fig. 1C move to the rear or near, the protuberance 61 will contact with the proximal arm 54, and can not pass through the hole 58, so it prevents the needle from moving further near, and also prevents the The needle is removed from the needle guard.

The embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 2 is also similar to that of FIG. 1, except that the grooves for engaging the lower ends of the spring clips are formed on the lower wall of the needle catheter hub, and the retaining holes formed on this wall are used. Protrusion 62 instead, when needle guard 40 is in the ready position among Fig. 2A, the lower end 46 of needle guard 40 is just blocked by this protrusion.

The embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B is substantially the same as that of FIG. 2 except for the addition of a tie that is fixed at one end to the needle hub 12 and at the other end to the proximal arm 54 of the spring clip needle guard 40. rope64. As shown in Figure 3B, when the needle hub is retracted to the position where the needle is removed, the tether 64 is extended to its full length so that when the needle guard 40 is clamped on the needle in the retracted position, the needle hub 12 and spring clip needle guard 40 are more securely held together. As mentioned above, in the retracted position, the distal arm 42 of the spring clip prevents access to the needle tip and both the needle guard 40 and the needle are disengaged from the needle catheter hub.

Figures 4A and 4B illustrate a spring clip needle guard in another configuration embodying the concepts of the present invention. As shown, this spring clip needle guard 40a comprises a far arm 65 whose upper end terminates at a curved lip 66, and the lower end of the far arm is a U-shaped portion 67, in the ready position shown in FIG. 4A , the U-shaped portion 67 is in contact with a protrusion 68 formed on the lower inner wall of the needle catheter hub.

The transverse segment 69 with the central hole 70 extends upwardly, proximally, and terminates at an upper U-shaped portion 72 . A proximal arm 74 with a hole 76 hangs vertically from the U-shaped portion 72 and then extends distally to a horizontal lower section 78 which has a hole 80 through which the lower half of the distal arm 65 and the transverse section 69 pass. 80 and extended to the ready position of the needle guard. The distal end of lower section 78 extends upwardly as a distal arm 82 having a central bore 84 axially aligned with bores 70 and 76 . An upper section 86 extends proximally from the upper end of the distal arm 82. As shown in FIG. 4A, the upper section 86 is in contact with the upper inner wall of the needle catheter hub substantially with its entire length.

As shown in Figure 4A, when the needle catheter is in the ready position, the needle shaft passes through the holes 70, 76 and 84 and presses against the curved lip 66, pressing the arm 65 against the protrusion 68 on the lower wall of the needle catheter hub. . This contact, together with the resilient contact of the upper section 86 with the upper inner wall of the needle catheter hub, keeps the spring clip 40a in the ready position within the needle catheter hub.

As shown in FIG. 4A, when the needle hub and needle are retracted far enough to the right, the needle tip passes the lower lip 66 and the downward force on the arm 65 is released. As in the first embodiment already described, the needle bar is disengaged from the arm 65 of the spring clip, so that the arm 65 springs upward to the retracted position shown in FIG. 4B , where the arm 65 and lip 66 Extends over the needle tip, thereby preventing accidental contact with the needle tip, as required. In this state, the manner in which the needle guard is clamped on the needle shaft is basically the same as that described in the first embodiment, and, as shown in Figure 4B, the clamped needle and needle guard can be easily Remove from needle catheter hub.

The embodiment of the needle guard shown in Figures 5A and 5B is substantially the same as that shown in Figures 4A and 4B with the addition of a narrow groove 90 around the tip of the needle. When the needle and the needle guard were in the retracted and clamped position (Fig. 5B), the position of the narrow slot 90 was slightly farther than the clamping point e of the transverse section 69, so if you want to use As the needle moves further rearward or proximally, the transverse section 69 snaps into the narrow slot 90, thereby providing additional force to keep the needle guard on the needle in the protected position to prevent access to the needle tip.

The embodiment of the invention shown in Figures 6A and 6B is the same as that shown in Figures 4A and 4B, except that it has a needle that is fixed at one end to the needle hub and at the other end to the proximal arm of the spring clip needle guard. tether92. In the ready position, as shown in Figure 6A, the tether is wrapped around the distal end of the needle hub. As shown in Figure 6B, when the needle and needle guard are in the retracted position, the tether is extended to its full length, increasing the force holding the needle guard to the needle hub. If desired, the embodiment of the invention shown in Figures 6A and 6B can also have narrow slots for the needles as in the embodiment shown in Figures 5A and 5B.

The embodiment in FIGS. 7A-C differs from previously described embodiments primarily in the structure and operation of the spring clip needle guard 96 . As shown in Figs. 8 and 9, the spring clip 96 has a central transverse section 98 which has a central narrow groove 100 therein. An angled segment 102 extends proximally from the transverse portion 98, terminating at an arcuate end 104, from which extends a proximal arm 106. The arm 106 terminates at a U-shaped portion 108 at its lower end. The distal end of the transverse portion 98 terminates at an arcuate portion 110 from which extends a distal arm 112 . The upper end of the distal arm 112 terminates at an arcuate arm 114 .

The cutout at portion 98 forms a flexible tongue 116 whose distal free end terminates in a downwardly inclined locking tongue 118 . As with the previous embodiments, the proximal arm 106 has an aperture 58 therein.

As shown in FIG. 7A , when spring clip needle guard 96 is in the ready state shown, it is inserted into needle catheter hub 26 to allow needle 16 to pass through aperture 58 and narrow slot 100 . Like the previously described embodiment, the arc-shaped end 104 is pressed against the upper inner wall of the needle catheter hub 26 at point b, while the arc-shaped portion 110 is formed by being stuck on the inner wall of the lower part of the needle catheter hub at point a, instead of inside the matching groove 48. In addition, the lower arcuate portion 108 is in contact with the lower inner wall of the needle catheter hub 26 at a position near point b at point f.

In operation, the needle is initially withdrawn in the needle catheter hub until it reaches the tongue-engaged position shown in FIG. . At this point, the spring clip is still in contact with the inner wall of the needle catheter hub at points a, b and f, while the needle tip 18 is in contact with the arcuate end 114, thereby forcing the arcuate portion 110 into the groove 48 at point a. The relative position of point f to point b prevents the needle and clip from being released prematurely from the needle catheter hub because when the clip is in the engaged position with the tab shown in FIG. Slide the proximal end down.

As shown in Figure 7C, as the needle is further withdrawn from the patient, the needle tip exits the arcuate end 114, thereby releasing the downward force previously exerted by the needle on the arcuate end 114.

The sudden release of the downward force on the end of the spring clip causes the distal end of the spring clip 96 to rotate upwards, so that the far arm 112 of the spring clip 96 moves quickly to a position that prevents or blocks The needle moves far away. The spring clip 96 remains on the needle 16 and, when the needle is fully removed, it will also be removed from the needle catheter hub 26. The insertion of locking tongue 118 into needle groove 60 further prevents movement of spring clip 96 from the protected or retracted position shown in FIG. 7C because it prevents the spring clip from rotating about the circumference of the needle. This further enables the spring clip to remain fixed on the needle even when subjected to twisting and pulling forces.

The safety IV needle catheter shown in FIGS. 7D and 7E is similar to that shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B except that the narrow slot 60 on the needle shaft is replaced by a ring of ridges 61 (FIG. 7E) that are larger in diameter than nearly Aperture 58 on arm 54 . If one wants to move the protected needle in Fig. 7D to the rear or near, the protrusion 61 will contact the arm 106 and cannot pass through the hole 58, so that the needle is prevented from moving further near, and the needle Remove from needle guard.

The embodiment of the spring clip needle guard 120 shown in Figures 10A, 10B and 11 has first and second arms 122 and 124, the proximal ends of which are connected at 125 to the two ends of the proximal arm 126 respectively in the form of a hinge structure. end. The distal ends of the arms 122, 124 each have an arcuate raised portion 128 extending to a distal arm 130 which in turn terminates at a lip 132. As can be seen in FIG. 11 , there is a central hole 134 in the proximal arm 126 , while the arms 122 and 124 each have a narrow portion 142 extending between a distal wide portion 140 and a proximal wide portion 144 . A transverse clamping edge 146 is formed on the distal wide portion 144 .

As shown in FIG. 10A , when the needle guard 120 is in the ready position, the arc-shaped raised portion 128 on each arm 122 , 124 snaps into the annular groove 136 on the inner wall of the needle catheter hub 26 . As in the previous embodiments, the needle catheter hub 26 is removably received within the distal end of the needle hub 12 . Also, like the previous embodiments, the needle 16 having a needle-pointed tip 18 at its distal end is housed in a tubular needle guide 24 fixed to the distal end of a needle guide hub 26 . The proximal end of needle 16 passes through aperture 134 in proximal arm 126 . Needle 16 has a raised diameter bump 138 that is small enough to allow needle 16 to move axially along needle guide tube 24 but larger than the diameter of bore 134 for the following reasons.

In the ready position shown in FIG. 10A , the needle shaft passes through the needle guard and exerts an outward radial force on the resilient arms 122 and 124 by contacting the lip 132 to force the arcuate portion 128 of each arm. into the annular groove 136 so that the needle guard 120 remains in place in the inner wall of the needle catheter hub 26 . The needle shaft of the needle 16 passing through the needle guard 120 is in frictional contact with the narrow portion 142 of the arms 122 and 124 so that the needle is further securely held in its ready position.

When the needle is axially withdrawn within the needle catheter hub to the right in FIG. 10A and passes the lip 132 of the needle guard, the radial force originally exerted on the arms 122 and 124 of the needle guard 120 suddenly disappears. . This makes the two far arms 130 of the needle guard disengage from the annular groove 136 and turn inwardly toward the inside of the needle catheter hub until the far arms 130 overlap each other in the forward position away from the needle tip as shown in FIG. 10B . This creates a barrier against accidental contact with the needle tip and distal movement of the needle tip. At the same time, the clamping edge 146 of the needle guard presses tightly against the needle tip, limiting further axial movement of the needle.

As shown in Figure 10B, the needle guard 120 and the needle clamped to the needle guard can be detached from the needle catheter hub as a single unit and safely discarded after the needle is retracted. If the needle guard is pulled out as shown in FIG. 10B , due to intentional or accidental attempts to pull the needle further to the right, the protrusion 138 on the needle shaft comes into contact with the proximal arm 126 . Since the diameter of the protrusion is greater than the diameter of the hole 134, the proximal arm 126 now prevents further axial movement of the needle out of the needle guard.

12, 13A and 13B of the present invention, the spring clip needle guard includes a transverse arm 150 at its distal end terminating at a distal arm 152, and the distal arm has a curved lip 154 at its upper end and a curved lip 154 at its lower end. There is a curved lip 156 . An elongated rectangular opening or slot 158 is provided in the transverse arm 150 . The proximal end of the transverse arm 150 and opening 158 terminates at an extension 160 extending upwardly from the arm 150 at an angle and having a finger or tongue 162 extending toward the opening 158 .

The proximal end of the extension portion 160 terminates in a curved lip 166 from which a proximal arm 168 extends downwardly. Arm 168 has an aperture 170 which terminates in an arcuate portion 172 of its lower end from which extends an upwardly angled arm 174 which terminates in clamping edge 176 . As can be seen in Figures 13A and 13B, a 360 degree annular groove 178 is formed around the peripheral wall of the needle 16 slightly inward from the needle tip 18.

As shown in FIG. 13A, in the ready position of the spring clip needle guard of FIG. 12, the needle shaft passes through mutually aligned holes 170 and 158 on the proximal arm 168 and the lateral arm 150 and extends distally beyond the needle guide tube. hub. As with the embodiments described above, the needle shaft in this position exerts a downward radial force on the arm 150 due to contact with the curved lip 154 . This downward force pushes the curved lip 156 of the spring clip securely into the groove 164 formed in the inner wall of the needle catheter hub at point a.

At the same time, the upper arcuate end 166 of the proximal arm 168 engages the interior of the needle catheter hub at point b, while the lower arcuate end 172 of the arm 168 engages the inner wall of the needle catheter hub at point f. The contact of finger 162 with the upper portion of the needle bar at point e, and the clamping edge 176 with the lower surface of the needle bar at point g, further enhances the engagement between the needle bar and the spring clip. In this way, the needle is securely but movably retained in the needle catheter hub in its ready position.

When the needle is withdrawn axially to the right to the position shown in Figures 13A and 13B, it finally passes the contact position with the lip 154, so that the radial force originally exerted on the arm 150 of the needle guard suddenly disappear. Disengagement between the needle shaft and the lip 154 allows the curved lip 156 on the far arm 152 of the spring clip to break away from the annular groove 164. As a result, the arm 150 and the far arm 152 are quickly rotated to the inside of the needle catheter hub, as shown in FIG. As shown in Figure 13B, the arm 152 is rotated to a position where it becomes a barrier to the needle tip. The positioning of the arm 152 prevents accidental contact with the needle tip. Engagement of fingers 162 with clamping edge 176 on the opposite side of the needle prevents further axial movement of the needle in any direction.

If one wants to pull the needle further axially to the right in the future, then as shown in Figure 13B, the finger 162 will enter in the annular groove 178 formed on the surface of the needle, thereby preventing the needle from moving axially further proximally. Move away from the needle guard.

As can be understood from the above statements, the spring clip needle guard for IV needle catheters of the present invention provides automatic and reliable needle tip protection during needle withdrawal to prevent nurses from accidentally touching the needle tip. At the same time, it should also be understood that various modifications can be made to the above-described embodiments of the present invention without departing from the concept of the present invention.

Claims (12)

1. a needle guard (120), used to protect the needle tip, it comprises: a proximal arm (126) having an opening (134) for receiving a needle (16) therethrough; and a first arm (122) and a second arm (124) extending from the proximal arm to the distal end, wherein the first and second arms each have a distal arm (130) at their ends, and The first arm crosses the second arm. 2. The needle guard according to claim 1, wherein said arms have a narrow portion (142) extending between the distal and proximal portions, so that the shaft of the needle (16) can be positioned between the crossing arms (122, 124). ) through the needle guard (120). 3. The needle guard of claim 2, wherein the needle shaft of the needle (16) passing through the needle guard (120) frictionally engages the inner edge of the narrow portion (142) of the arm (122, 124) . 4. The needle guard according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said arms (122, 124) are made of elastic material, and the needle shaft of the needle (16) passing through said needle guard is in said An outward radial force is exerted on the elastic arm. 5. The needle guard of claim 1, wherein the distal arms (130) of the cross arms (122, 124) overlap each other. 6. The needle guard of claim 1, wherein each arm (122, 124) has a distal wide portion (144) provided with a transverse clamping edge (146). 7. The needle guard of claim 1, wherein the distal arm (130) of each arm (122, 124) terminates in a curved lip (132) that engages the shaft of the needle (16). 8. The needle guard of claim 1, wherein the needle shaft urges a portion of the resilient arm into contact with the needle catheter hub. 9. The needle guard of claim 1, wherein each arm (122, 124) is provided with an arcuate raised portion (128) on the distal arm (130). 10. The needle guard of claim 9, wherein the arcuate raised portion (128) is received in an annular groove (136) formed in the inner wall of the needle catheter hub (26). 11. The needle guard of claim 1, wherein said needle guard is located on the needle shaft of a needle (16) within a needle catheter hub (26), The needle is located in the needle catheter hub (26) in the ready position with the needle tip extending out of the needle catheter hub, The arms (122, 124) of the needle guard are in a first position in which the needle shaft presses the arms radially outwards, wherein when the needle guard is in a second position in which the needle is retracted from the needle catheter hub, the arm is in a second position in which the distal arm (130) of the arm is inward turn and secure the needle tip (18), The radially raised portion (61, 138) of the needle engages the edge of the opening (134) of the proximal arm (126) of the needle guard. 12. The needle guard of claim 11, wherein the needle guard includes an end proximate to the resilient arm and in contact with the inner wall of the opposing needle catheter hub in the ready position.

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